Automatic feeder and positioner



sept. 27, 1949. T. M KANE .2,482,916

AUTOMATIC FEEDER AND POS ITIONER Filed May 2e, 1947 2 sheets-sheet 1 L' C152- L FIG. l.

IN VEN TOR. THOMAS M. .KANE

BY/MMM Sept. 27, 1949. T. M. KANE 2,482,916

AUTOMATIC FEEDER AND POSITIONER Filed May 26,-1947 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR. THOMAS M. KANE Patented Sept. 27, 1949 (Imran STATES ril'rrLNT orifice Thomas Kane, Baltimore, Md.

Application' May 26',f1947,-Serial No. 750,470

l 2 Claims.

This inventionv relates to the mechanical distribution and processingf ot items of food, and more particularly `to the4 line-'used for the conveying of particular raw materialsV from oneV portion` of a process to another. Y

The invention isl intended to be used with the type of equipment described by the same inventor and detailed in= the U. S. Patent No. 2,463,281, issued March l, 1949, for improvements in- Dual turret conveyors, to whichV reference may be made to acquirev more' information as to a particularv manner in which it may be used.

It is an. object of the present invention to providea new andf improved food depositing mechanismvthat will? avoid; one o1 more of the disadvantagesi and limitationsiof the prior art.

Another object of thevin'v'entionf is to provide a new and improved' food depositing mechanism that will carry delicate items of food as they are received and deposit'tl'iem' carefully' and without damage on a conveyory to betaken to another point lwhere further processing is. done Vthereon.-

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved depositing and) conveying mechanism that will center the items of food receivedl by it for processing. sor such items will be locatedv the most desirable position for: the next process.

Other objects will become apparent as the invention is more fully set forth.

For a clearer understanding of the invention and the principles thereof reference is made to the drawings provided herewith, and the description following, and also the claims provided to indicate the general scope of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a tomato depositing and conveying mechanism embodying this invention, portions being broken away to clarify its construction, the mechanism being shown attached to a conveying machine to illustrate the use of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side view in elevation of Figure 1, and is fragmentary, especially with regard to the rear conveyor belt;

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional detail on line 4 4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail partly in section of the receiving cup used in the mechanism shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 6 is a sectional detail on line 6 6 of Y Figure 2.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

In the particular construction shown in the drawings, by way of example, a pair of chutes I'll are employed to slide tomatoes Il or similar items of food down to pick-up wheels I2. The

wheels rotate in the direction of the arrows' and carry a series of cups I'3` radially withinthe wheels I'2. The bottom It' oi each' cup I3 has a pin I t'reciprocatingy axially through it. A coil spring' l of the underside of the bottom It keeps the downwith itsheadf il on'the bottoni. Aidan-'ge i8 on the lower end ofthje pinA isf pressed? on by the' spring It and keeps the" fingersl IS open and'` resiliently' in: that position.' Whenl the' pin* i5: is'- down,` a' number-of fingers: I9 hinged at 20` t'o` the' loottorn` of each cup' engage against the flange If8 and: keeptheir' arms ZI" angularly and.i inwardly directed?Y over the upper portion of the cup# |135.

These Varms 2I` hold; on tofthetomat'o I'I or other' in; the cupl f3 by' its Wallsand the' use of the' armsf 2l: The wheels If2'rotate as indicated and carry' thefcup's 'onfrtheirperipherv After the itemf of food lrI isdroppedifn the rst andsucce'edingcupsl I3 it is rotated and the cups in each instance become consecutively-f pointed out: .sidewise` or downwardlyif such` positions the tomatoes I:=I=' would normally' fall outzofV theV cups4 I3 glifi theA arms ZI did not restrain them from doing so. The arms operate to arrange this holding under the tension of the spring I6. However since the arms 2| have to be in open position while the item II is deposited in the cup I3 from the chute I'll, some means have to be provided to open them. This is accomplished through the use of a cam member yI5 installed in a fixed position within the structure of the wheel I2 so it will contact the fingers i9 as they register therewith. The cam member I5 is supported by a bracket 'IS and is contoured to provide a gradual movement of the fingers I9 so that by the time the cups I3 reach the location oi the ychutes I!) they have the arms 2| moved outwardly so the cup will be entirely open to receive the tomatoes I I. The wheels I2 are rotated by shaft 25 on which a pulley 21 is mounted and keyed. This pulley 2l operates another pulley 28 mounted on the shaft 29 of a conveyor drum 30 through a driving member 3|. A motor drive is suitably arranged through shafts 32 and gears 52 for the purpose, as shown in Figure 2. The cam member I5 also causes the arms V2l to open up when the cup reaches the lowest position of the wheel and over a conveyor belt 33. VThis conveyor belt is driven in a horizontal plane and supports the dishediout plates 34 to receive the tomatoes II as they are deposited from the open cups I3. When the arms 2l open, the head l1 of the pin I5 is pushed into the cup I'3 to force the item I I out and discharge it. The tomatoes i I travel on the plates 3d until they arrive under the conveyor drum 30. The drums 30 are provided with notches 4I. The conveyor belt 35 on the drums 3B' carries a number of stabilizers 25 spaced along its length, which are guided to the top of the tomatoes il in turn by a guide element 36. As the stabilizers 25 contact the tomatoes I l they centralize them in the plates 34 and make them ready for the next proef ess. Incidently the next process, not shown, cores the tomatoes, and therefore requires that the items of food be properly centered. Channels 3'! with rollers 38 maintain the belt 35 and stabilizers in position as they pass along to the end of the travel of the conveyor belt. An idler drum 39 with its shaft 40 is carried by the `belt 35 and through the use of notches 4I and teeth 42 which pulls it along in the proper sequence. The various shafts 32 are supported on brackets 43 and bearings mounted on the framework of the conveyor underneath or other suitable foundations for the use in question, whether indicated or not.

In the drawings, a dual arrangement of pickup Wheels and attachments is shown, in order to make eiective use of the type of horizontal conveyor shown. It should be noted that the pickup wheels are so arranged that they have peripheral rims 44 that prevent the tomatoes spilling out of the chute when the cups are rotated. Also the cam members are stationary, while the pick-up wheels revolve. When the conveyor belt 35 moves, it causes the stabilizers to take the positions shown in the drawings. These stabilizers 25 move inwards into the belt when in the upper plane and move outwards at the bottom plane of the belt, resting in the tomatoes, see Figure 6*. While passing around the drums, they are pushed out` The shafts 26 and pick up wheels I2 are rotated by bevel gears 43 attached to shafts 48 and rotated by gears 45 of main shaft 32.

While but one general form of theV invention is shown in the drawings and described in the specifications, it is not desired to limit this appli- 4 cation for patent to this particular form or in any other way otherwise than limited by the scope of the claims, as it is appreciated that other forms of construction could be made that would use the same principles and come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

1. In a mechanism of the class described, a pick-up wheel, a plurality of cups peripherally mount-ed on said wheel, said cups having longitudinal slits in the wall thereof, L-shaped fingers pivoted outwardly of said cups, spring means carried by said cups and normally pressing on said ngers to force a portion thereof to extend within the slits in the cups, chutes adjacent said wheel for supplying said cups with an article of food, means for rotating said Wheel, a cam cooperating With said fingers and spring means to periodically oscillatevsaid lingers to alternately grip the article of food in the cups and to permit its release therefrom, a conveyor for carrying the article of food upon release from said cups, said means for rotating said wheel including notched wheels, a belt connecting said wheels, and stabilizing elements carried by said belt for centering each article of food upon said conveyor.

2. A mechanism as set forth in claim 1, means adjacent said belt to maintain said belt and stabilizing elements in position, said means cornprising channels and rollers carried thereby and in contact with said belt.

THOMAS M. KANE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

